3 Free Math Activities That Will Engage Your Students
Engaging middle school math students in their learning is one of the most important jobs of a middle school math teacher. I, like many other teachers, found this out the hard way during my first years of teaching. For me, standing in front of the room and delivering the content wasn’t going to work for me and my students. Since my first classes ten years ago, I have worked hard to create math activities and resources that are engaging for middle school students.
1. Area, Volume, and Surface Area Connect Four
These Connect Four games have been a savior when it comes to keeping students interested and excited about math class. I have a huge range of games for 5th through 8th grade, but you can try out this free 8th Grade Math Area, Volume, and Surface Area Connect Four game as a sample. Over the summer, I worked hard to update all of these games with a digital Google slides copy, which is linked in the PDF. I’m hoping that having the digital option will give you some flexibility to use it, whether you are in person or virtual this school year.
2. Transformation Mystery USA Trip
In my opinion, translations, reflections, and rotations are the most challenging concepts to teach at the middle school level. I discovered this the hard way, of course, when my initial lessons trying to explain this were a complete flop. To help get students excited and engaged in transformations, I created this free Transformation Mystery USA Trip. In these activities, students begin in a US city on the map and must follow a series of translations, reflections, and rotations that lead them to 1 of 6 mystery destinations. The free set begins in Madison, WI, but I now have an activity available that begins in every US state!
3. Dividing Whole Numbers Scavenger Hunt
One of the biggest surprises in my teaching career was when I tried implementing my first scavenger hunt. I thought students would like them, but the level of engagement the first time I tried one was off the charts. I was literally laughing at how well it was going as students had their clipboards and work sheets out, moving around the room to each problem. I recently added 5th grade scavenger hunts, including this free Dividing Whole Numbers Scavenger Hunt.
As we know, in the world of middle school math, student engagement is everything. Don’t forget to download these free math activities to use with your students and be sure to let me know how they like them!